THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK speaks to the most common attitude, or habit, in the human condition today. With every page I turned, not only did I see myself, but dozens of other folk I've known over the years. It's almost as if the pages were made of tinfoil.. they reflect so much! I've already decided that much of my holiday shopping will be handled by a bulk order of this delightful publication.

Just about everyone I know is, or has been, one of the types of procrastinators Rita Emmett outlines in this book. This includes myself, of course. (Until I heard about this book, I thought all procrastinators were my subjects, and I was their Queen.) As I read, I made a mental list of all the wonderful people I know who would benefit from the clear, self-affirming, logical tips, and "Extra Credit" tasks Rita presents. I also bookmarked the many pages that gave me sound plans for attacking both the physical and mental clutter that generate so much unnecessary stress.

My favorite element of the book is its "just folks" tone. There is never the sense that the author, nor the audience, is immune to the menial, the drudgey or the mundane tasks common to modern life. Rita speaks of scrubbing her kitchen walls, rather than attack a typing task she despised. How many books these days assume their audience to be "above" such real-life chores? How often does one get a suggestion about the least distasteful time for getting laundry folded? It's almost as if Rita is chatting with me over coffee at my kitchen table.. or hers, since my house isn't "ready for company" yet. We're "just folks" together, and she shares with us her experience of real life and how to make it more satisfying.

Another element of the book that I find most appealing is her refusal to sugar coat the unpleasant truth. She writes that, "Life seems to overflow with" unpleasant tasks, the stuff we just know we won't want to do, but must, if we wish to be considered functional human beings. The tasks are just there, though sometimes we're unable to find anything appealing in the doing of the task. Rita reminds us that we can "change our minds to change the game," and focus on the time AFTER completion of the task, where we're able to simply bask in the glow of a job (well) done. If basking isn't enough for you, Rita gives us a great starter list of rewards we can promise ourselves for gritting our teeth and plowing through those tasks. When you approach things this way, there's really nothing one cannot get oneself to do. In fact, thanks to Rita, I'm going to resume my efforts to get started on graduate school and end ten (well, okay, seventeen) years of putting THAT off.

I believe a lot of us in this "modern" generation are pulling away from Mom's Homespun Wisdom, and Rita does a significant service to her audience by bringing some of that back to us, in a most affirming, considerate, noncritical way. She tells us to get the worst stuff out of the way early in the day, so as to eliminate dread, and put a shinier glint on whatever follows. I know MY mom encouraged me to do that as well, but coming from Rita, it's not so hard to hear.

So... I say, get your hands on this book right away, make a pot of coffee, grab a highlighter or some bookmarks, and even your holiday shopping list, and sit down to a TERRIFIC read.